Growing your business often relies both on your leadership skills and the ability of your employees to carry out your plans. As your business grows, it can become unwieldy to do everything by yourself. Having a strategy to keep your most important...
Dreaming is often the foundation of creating your ideal reality. For many business owners, their success started with a simple dream: "What if I could do things my way?" "What if I didn't have to report to a boss?" "What if I could give my family everything they ever...
Controlling the controllable and reducing the effects of the uncontrollable are prudent decisions for successful business owners. But how can you know which is which, and where can you go when confronted with a situation you've never experienced before in your...
Unless you're the owner of a multi-billion- or trillion-dollar corporation, your business is likely subject to the whims of a changing marketplace. External changes in the market can sometimes force you to deal with problems you thought you'd never have to worry...
One of the biggest sources of friction in planning for a successful future is time. Successful business owners like you aren’t sitting around, twiddling your thumbs, and wondering what to do with all this extra time you have. How can you, with everything else you have...
For the past two years, I’ve been talking about my transition—moving from “retiring” to “rewiring.” Most people dream of retirement, only to find themselves asking, “What’s next?” I knew I wasn’t going to retire in the traditional sense; instead, I’m stepping into a...
Planning for a successful future both inside and outside of your business generally requires advisors who are specialists. These specialists play specific roles in bringing together what can be a large and complex plan that positions you to achieve financial security...
Having a valuable business could position you to do the things you want in both your personal and professional life, from taking advantage of the perks of owning a successful business now to planning for your eventual retirement and cementing your legacy. But how can...
The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) of 2017 is scheduled to have many important provisions expire at the end of 2025. These expiring provisions could have immense impacts on business owners. Today, we are going to focus on three of the biggest changes that you can...
The key to business growth often lies in the installation of Value Drivers. Value Drivers are elements of your business that can help you make it attractive to potential buyers as you approach your inevitable business exit and could help you grow your business while...
Choosing a successor to run your business is one of the most challenging decisions that you'll make as a business owner. It can be especially challenging if the successor you choose isn't the one everyone expects, which could lead to disagreements, fights, and chaos....
Writing things down is an important part of achieving your goals, both while you're running your business and after you leave it. However, many business owners feel overwhelmed by the idea of writing down their post-exit goals and strategies. Some business owners say...
A recent Supreme Court case, Connelly v. United States, made an important ruling related to succession planning for closely held businesses. Today, we'll look at what the ruling says, how it could affect you, and steps you could take to avoid paying more in taxes than...
Many business owners have a fuzzy idea of what life looks like after they're done working. But fewer business owners have a plan for how they’ll reach the life they want after they're done working. Running a successful business is time consuming, so business owners...
Your business is likely a large part of your financial success. Even after you eventually leave your business, you may still rely on your business to achieve financial security. This often means that you need to prepare for the next generation of your business....
Building trust with your clients often requires a combination of consistency and newness. Threading the needle between becoming commoditized by being stagnant and alienating your customers by moving too far away from your core competencies is also an important part of...
Planning for a successful future often takes years. And even the most forward-thinking plans can run into unexpected obstacles that can add more time to achieving your goals—perhaps more time than you’re comfortable with. How can you minimize the time you need to...
Keeping key employees committed to your business is an essential strategy for building business value. It’s also a crucial part of planning for a successful future, including your eventual business exit. There are many strategies you can use to retain key employees....
Revenue and profitability are generally good indicators of your company’s strength. However, when it comes to planning for a successful future, they are far from the only things that determine your company’s strength. As you plan and perhaps approach your exit from...
Achieving financial independence is the most important goal for business owners who want to exit their businesses successfully. The importance of achieving this goal is so great that it may be tempting to take legally nebulous routes to achieving it. Let’s look at a...